policy is administered and operated, and it is here that the need exists. It is more cost effective to send funds directly to the local level than to channel them through a state bureaucracy. The 50 percent matching requirement in S. 530 would be a serious problem for the states, which are experiencing extraordinary demands on their resources merely to provide the most basic

services.

We believe strongly that a national problem of the dimensions we have outlined demands an adequate allocation of national resources. The funding of S. 530 and of the House-passed bill (HR 1310), is adequate for planning and initial program steps but not for a long-range, comprehensive solution like the American Defense Education Act. We understand and and agree with the need for emergency programs, but believe the depth and scope of the issues before Congress today will require a long term commitment

sources-beginning at the federal level.

of massive re

NEA criteria call for administration of new legislation by the Department of Education, which would coordinate programs in support of local effort and

initiatives.

Our criteria also specify that teachers, working in close association with local school boards, business and labor leaders, and others interested in education, develop and implement the best tailor-made, effective programs.

We applaud the inclusion of a strong higher education component in S. 530, but recommend that the teacher training program at colleges and universities require joint consultation with local education agencies and teachers in the planning and implementation of programs developed.

Several math-science bills now before Congress propose differential pay for teachers in these areas. NEA strongly opposes this approach as one that conveys a strong message to all teachers: that some subject areas are more

important than others. After all, without reading and writing skills, no child can learn science or math. This means, too, that education at the elementary school level must be taken into account in any initiative for improving math and science instruction.

The Answer is ADEA

NEA members support the philosophy of the American Defense Education Act because it is a national program to meet the urgent national need of improving instruction in math, science, communication skills, foreign languages, and guidance and counseling, in addition to reaffirming equality of access to education for all--the concepts on which the federal role in education has been built since the early years of the nation.

ADEA establishes participation requirements for local school districts which choose voluntary participation in the program. These include an assessment of both instruction and achievement in the elementary and secondary schools in the critical subjects; development of overall goals to prepare students for employment, technical training, higher education, and citizenship, including service in the nation's defense.

To measure the progress of programs with ADEA assistance, local school districts will establish yearly evaluation systems, developed with participation from the school board, administrators, teachers, parents, appropriate bargaining agents, business and industry, and the community at large.

During each fiscal year, school districts working with the ADEA program will be entitled to a basic payment of two percent of the average per-pupil expenditure in the state, and those which can show substantial evidence that the program meets the ADEA goals for the year will receive an additional two percent payment. The summary and chart following this statement outline the basic program elements and estimated allocations to states during the first

year of operation.

Conclusion

Mr. Chairman, at this time we urge that assessment and needs analysis be commenced first. Further hearings and input can only assist in the planning and implementation of an effective, comprehensive program. NEA state affiliates are working with governors in support of ADEA, and they would welcome the opportunity to offer their insights and recommendations to the Committee.

We look forward to working further with the Committee in the interest of developing a comprehensive, well-financed program to attain the goal of better education to meet the challenges of this rapidly changing world.

Thank you.

THE AMERICAN DEFENSE EDUCATION ACT

Rationale

At a time when the challenges facing the nation's economic, technological, and defense needs are greater than at almost any other period in American history, the federal commitment to excellence in education, as well as a reaffirmation of the commitment to equality of access for all American people must be strengthened and reinforced.

Purpose

The American Defense Education Act provides that the federal government shall provide incentives to local school districts to improve the quality of instruction in the fields of mathematics, the sciences, communication skills, foreign languages, new technologies, and guidance and counseling, and to higher education institutions to bolster teacher training and support research and dissemination.

Summary

The bill:

(1) authorizes a national program to improve the quality of instruction in the fields of mathematics, the sciences, the communication skills, foreign languages, technology, and guidance and counseling, in addition to reaffirming equality of access to education for all;

(2) establishes participation requirements for the local school
districts, which participate voluntarily in the program;

(3) provides for an evaluation of the progress of programs developed with ADEA assistance, which requires participation and input from the school board, administrators, teachers, parents, appropriate bargaining agencies, business and industry, and the community;

(4) provides for incentive payments for school districts working with the
ADEA program of a basic payment of two percent of the average
per-pupil expenditure in that state, (but not less than the average
per-pupil expenditure in the United States), and provides those
school districts which can show substantial evidence that the program
meets the ADEA goals for the year with an additional two percent
payment;

(5) provides that administration of the ADEA will be under the Department of Education, but calls on the Secretary of Defense to jointly project personnel training needs of the Armed Forces, as well as the educational needs of the Department of Defense to assist in efficient personnel development;

(6) provides higher education grants for teacher training initiatives such as summer institutes and workshops, inservice training, and projects to enhance their ability to meet new and practicing teacher needs;

(7) provides funds for college and university development of research and dissemination projects related to the purposes of ADEA; and

(8) authorizes payments based on the number of children enrolled in

average daily attendance in local education agencies, multiplied by $50 in fiscal 1985, and by $100 in each of the two succeeding fiscal

years.

Appendix A

Math and Science Concerns

Currently, American youth in the 15,000 school districts across the country are not adequately prepared to take on the economic, technological or national security challenges facing the nation. For example:

Fewer students are taking fewer courses and spending fewer hours studying math and science.

-A 1980 survey prepared by the Center for Education Statistics of a representative sampling of high school senior graduates in the U.S. revealed that only one-third of those sampled had taken three years of math or more. While more than half of academic students had taken at least three years of math, only a fifth of the general and vocational students graduate with three years of math.

This same Center for Education Statistics survey also revealed that only 41 percent of academic students completed three or more years of science courses, with 13 percent of general students and 9 percent of vocational students taking that same number of years in science.